darkholme

the music(al) snob strikes again!

Yeah, the music snob in me is emerging yet again from the dark recesses... well, actually not really emerging. The music snobbery in me is actually quite apparent.

In my previous post, the music snob (me, it just sounds cooler when I refer to myself in the third person way) was mentioned that I don't like R&B, techno, soppy Canto/Mando-pop like Stephanie Sun, JJ Lin. I am going to rant about this a bit more, so if you're not in the mood, I seriously suggest that you skip this post NOW.

Ok. For those of you who are left, here's why I'm ranting.

I just finished watching a series of local musicals produced by the Musical Theatre Society. It was called The New Wave of Singapore Musicals. To give you some background on this, it's sort of like an incubation programme for the creation of new musicals, written, composed, directed, produced and starring Singaporean talents. On each of the three nights, two musicals are performed, all of which are 45 minute versions of the full musical, mainly to get feedback from an audience and test what works, what doesn't etc.

I was first introduced to it by Daffy who had performed in an earlier series staged by the same people called The Next Wave, similar in concept and production. This time due to her various commitments, she didn't manage to get a very big role in the two musicals that she was in. But she did well anyway! Yay!

Ok, back to the bitching/ranting/tirade. Of the six musicals staged over the three nights (yeah, I went for all three nights), here's my ranking:

1st and Best: Blue Willow House
2nd: Victorian Days
3rd: V4: Vanity Victorious Virtue Vanquished
4th: Love is in the Air
5th: City of the Gods
6th: Swingle

Blue Willow House

Set in Singapore 1905, the plot revolves around a group of rickshaw coolies, prostitutes and gangsters, narrated to a certain degree by Lim Boon Keng, a prominent Straits Chinese in Singapore at that time. You can find out more about each of the musicals at the link above.

I found that this musical had just the right mix. Although, the plot is quite straightforward, I found that the characters had depth, were 3 dimensional. The music was good and the lyrics were beautifully written, with the right amount of humour, poignancy, wit and craftsmanship (for want of a better word). What do I mean? Well, a lot of Singaporean musicians tend to write lyrics that obviously rhyme.

e.g.
After the rain,
It washes away the pAIN.
I want to cry.
I want to DIE.

You see? The very jarring rhyming used in the lyrics. I know, I used to write crappy songs like this when I was in secondary school. Anyway, for Blue Willow House, the lyrics and music went well together, and there wasn't a feeling of over-rhyming. I actually quite like the songs, especially, Bulls' Balls Brew (heh) and one of the other songs which goes "Hear the rain.. Hear the rain... la la la... la la la..." (Ok, I dunno the lyrics lah). In fact the Hear the rain riff is still playing in my head. Very memorable and beautiful.

What's more, the cast performed it extremely well, despite the really difficult music. Of all six musicals, I think the cast for this one was the strongest in terms of performance, musical ability and talent. And that's not just because my Daffy was in it.

Victorian Days

Set in the same era as Blue Willow House, it features Dr Lim Boon Keng, this time, in as the romantic lead/hero. I think that the music was fantastic for this, some songs being stronger than Blue Willow House, but I felt that the story was a bit too propagandic/didactic hence, the lower ranking.

What I must highlight is the stellar performances by Michelle Teo and Leslie Tay. Other notable performances were by Khar Liang and Andy Phang. Again, the strongest cast (they are the same as Blue Willow House)

V4: Vanity Victorious Virtue Vanquished

I'm getting lazier. Read the synopsis. Great music, lyrics, choreography, good story but I think that the twist at the end didn't come out strongly enough and as a result, the twist doesn't work. Or it's not strong enough an idea.

The cast is second in terms of performing ability.

Love is in the air

An ok story, but the direction and performance wasn't very strong. I don't like the choreography of it, reminded me too much of NDP mass displays.

Another pet peeve I have about the musical is that the cast cannot seem to pronouce their words properly, either when singing or talking. Very annoying for an audience.

City of the Gods

Ok. This musical had an interesting premise/setting. It's about the ancient South American Teotihuacan civilisation. However, the lyrics and music were not very strong. And everyone should avoid MIDI music wherever they can. There is something really terrible about a MIDI orchestra. The trumpets sound like a person farting. The cast were good singers, but poor pronouncers.

Swingle

*Warning - extremely harsh review coming.*

Extremely weak plot and lyrics. The music was ok, but nothing to scream about. What I must rant about is the lead. Her name is Genie and she's apparently starting a singing career in the Mando-pop arena (as if we need another one, the market is oversaturated already). You can find her website at genie.sg

If you ever need a reason why Mando/Cantopop stars (notice, I never mention that they are singers, because obviously, they are not) should never perform in musicals - she (genie) is a prime example. She can't act. She can't sing properly. She can't pronounce her words. Worst of all, instead of performing in a musical, she was pulling out all the classic Mando/Canto-pop music video moves:

1) Closing eyes when singing "emotionally"
2) Closing eyes and clenching fist when singing "emotionally"
3) Gesticulating with her hand ala Boyzone or any other crappy boyband


Example of boyband pose - not from the musical

Hello?!? IT'S NOT A FUCKING MUSIC VIDEO. It's a musical. You can tell that she's not used to not singing without a fucking mike in her hands.

As you can tell, I was really annoyed by her. It's just another pretty face (and not THAT pretty at all in fact). One song was really crappy - the song that went "sorry" like 14 gadzillion times. Look, there's such a thing as a thesaurus. Get one, use it. I mean, seriously, improve your vocabulary, write something interesting and poetic. Don't insult your audience by coming up with crappy lyrics.

And there you have it. My music(al) snobbery for all to see.

It's extremely difficult to write a musical. It's worse trying to write a great musical. I also admit that it's extremely hard to be a performer in a musical, because not only do you have to have a good voice, you need to be able to act and dance (sometimes). I say, if Genie is serious about being in musicals, then she should really shape up. If not, it's just another instance of Karen Mok in Rent.

Just as side note:

1. I will never call Mediacorp stars, actors or actresses. They can't act, with the exception of people like Adrian Pang, who is a trained stage actor.

2. I will never call Canto/Mando-pop stars, singers. They can't sing.

3. I will never get over how stupid boybands look in music videos.

In other news:

1. I'm jealous of Elaine and Calvin who are going on holiday to Sydney next week.
2. I'm sick and tired of the World Cup. I've had two friends cancel meetups because of it. I really find soccer stupid. Actually, let me correct that. I find the OBSESSION with 22 men running after a stupid ball stupid. Soccer itself is ok. It's the fanatic, almost religious attitude people have to it that I hate.

I mean, play soccer. It's good exercise, team building etc. But please, please don't be over-engrossed in it. What I hate is the macho shit attitude that soccer breeds.

There is more to life than who beat who in whatever cup tournament. In the bigger scheme of things, why are there soccer players that earn millions of dollars and poverty in various countries in the world. How can one enjoy a soccer match starring multi-million dollar players, costing millions of dollars to broadcast, market, publicise, when in Cambodia, there isn't enough money to build schools. There is definitely something wrong with the people who only care about their own lives and find meaning in watching soccer over beer.

Why aren't artists paid as much as soccer players. Starving artists, but starving soccer player? It's the whole imbalance between the arts and sports which I cannot tolerate.

Ugh.

- end of tirade -

Currently listening to : DJ Krush's "Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best (Soundscapes)" and Astreal's "Fragments of the Same Dead Star"

posted by kelvin @ 11:24 pm